Monthly Archives: September 2009

Take one part Crystal Palace and one part sinister character dining experience, and you have Lady Tremaine’s Parlour. The doppleganger of CP in the MK, this parlour would be an upscale dining location set in the world of the world famous princess, Cinderella and her wicked step-mother. Keep an eye out for Lucifer the cat lurking nearby as well as you sip your tea or crush your crumpet.

After seeing some of the information about the WDW Fantasyland expansion coming out of D23, some of what you see on this blog will seem like I ripped it straight from them. I did not. Unfortunately, I cannot prove such things, so I won’t even attempt to try. I was impressed by what I saw, intrigued by the focus of the Fantasyland expansion, and curious as to the logistics of the new “queue-less” double Dumbo. Also, because a lot of what I saw was along the lines of my own ideas, I was encouraged to keep dreaming.

Take a couple steps back for a moment into the hub area just before entering Maleficent’s Castle. In the center of the hub, surrounded by skeletal trees, bare of leaves all year long, guests will find the Shadowlands tip board. While not normally considered an attraction, this tip board will be a part of the Living Character Initiative and will be the Magic Mirror from Snow White.

Guests will be able to ask Mirror about wait times and closures and will receive an immediate real-time response. Where Turtle Talk is all about entertainment, the LCI will be used in this instance as informational, as well as entertaining.

Every Disney park has what Walt called, a “weenie.” The eye-catching piece that drew people towards it. In Epcot, Spaceship Earth. In Hollywood Studios, the Sorcerer’s Hat. Animal Kingdom, the Tree of Life, and of course Magic Kingdom has Cinderella’s Castle. Shadowlands will be no different. The weenie of the entire park will also be a castle, Maleficent’s Castle.

Inspired by the background art of Eyvind Earle, who worked on Sleeping Beauty, the castle will be based on his work with a little tastle of Castle Grayskull thrown in.

The exterior will be covered in climbing plants, like ivy and moss. It will have a crumbling appearance with it’s 13 towers precariously leaning as if about to topple at any minute. (think Merlin’s tower in the Sword and the Stone, only more evil) The base would be surrounded by rock, as if the castle were growing out of the very stone itself.

While the towering vision of Earle’s castle may be a bit too ambitious and possible against FAA regulations, the castle would retain its narrow look, but be brought down to earth a bit.

the structure would consist of 2 separate rock formations. The first would be known as the Castle Approach. It would be accessed by a long ramp from the Hub area of the park and connected to the 2nd formation by a massive drawbridge.

As seen in the cross section of the Castle Approach, guests would enter the Approach through an opening in the rock that gives them access to the interior of the rock. Inside they would make their way around the towering stone via a curved walkway that hugs the walls (similar to the Land pavilion at Epcot.) Upon exiting, they would make their way across the aforementioned drawbridge and into/through the castle proper.

Like Cinderella’s Royal Table, Maleficent’s Castle would have its own fine dining location: Dungeon. Just as it sounds, Dungeon would be located at the depths of the 2nd rock formation beneath the castle, accessed by elevator only. Torchlit dining awaits along with all the (non)comforts one might expect in a dungeon. Walls that appear wet, rusty iron doors, and maybe even the possible tortured screams of some poor unfortunate soul.

When the meal is complete and guests have returned to the surface, they should be sure to visit the dragon’s lair, located on the backside of the castle in a cave just large enough to hold the audio-animatronic beast.

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams (BOBD) is Shadowlands version of Main Street USA. After passing under the B & B Railway Station, guests will emerge into a courtyard that, like it’s counterpart at MK, serves largely as an administrative area with city hall, the expo hall, etc. The courtyard at Shadowlands will replace City Hall with The Keep and the Expo Hall with The Livery. These buildings wil serve very practical functions like Guest Services, Reservation Center, etc.

The Boulevard itself will be a bit different than Main Street as it will have a more winding feel to it. Not so much to obscure the view of the weenie at the end of the street, but enough to know that the way is crooked. In keeping with the medieval theming, the buildings will be crumbling stone buildings that through the use of reverse forced perspective will appear to loom over the guests as if they might topple over at any second. The ground will be cobblestones, or for logistical purposes (thousands of stumbling guests) have the look of cobblestones.

While the exteriors and most of the signage of the buildings will have a medieval feel, there will be exceptions and the interiors will be entirely different as if each proprietor has magically created a space fit for themselves.

What follows is a list of the locations along BOBD and their function and theming along with the movies or characters that inspired them.

Glomgold’s Department Store would serve as this park’s Emporium. From plushes, dishes, and keychains, to figures, paintings, and postcards, this store would be the one-stop shop for your Shadowlands gift and memento needs. This massive store would have an Scottish-Duckish interior inspired by the classic Scrooge McDuck foe, Flintheart Glomgold.

Although little known in North America, the duck family and stories are huge overseas and have a massive following. Centering this store around this particular character would hopefully spark an interest in the characters stateside.

Inspired by the villainous Sherif of Nottingham from Disney’s Robin Hood and his vulture crew of Nutsy and Trigger, this delicious sandwich shop would feature sandwiches, soups, and salads. The interior would be themed to the sherif’s office and the courtyard in the back would be the prison yard where the sherif and his posse would be hard at work and delighted to pose for a picture while guests enjoy their meal.

There is currently no real deli at WDW. Sure, sandwiches can be purchased all over the place, but an actual, high quality deli cannot be found (with the possible exception of Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney.) The possibilities for sandwich names are endless…”The FRYar Tuck”- a deep fried monte cristo served with choice of fries or chips, “The Little John” a massive mound of black forest ham and swiss cheese piled high on a kaiser roll served with a dill pickle spear.

The source for all of your pet related Disney needs. There is (or was) a place similar to this at Downtown Disney, but for those guests who don’t have the time in their busy vacation schedule to visit DD, here is the place to get a speial treat for their beloved furry (or finned, or feathered) family friend.

Themed after those sneaky cats from Lady & the Tramp, Si & Am, the store would have a sophisticated Asian and baby nursery decor.

Inspired by the little known villain from the Great Mouse Detective, Ratigan’s Haberdashery would be the source in the Shadowlands for hats and headwear.

The interior would be dark and plush, resembling what one might expect to be shrunk down and placed inside the rat hole of a rat with good taste. Leathers, velvets, and gold would abound with all the features being oversized to give guests the feeling that they have indeed been shrunk.

Shadowlands’ answer to the Art of Disney, Rogue’s Gallery would specialize in high-end collectibles and the one of a kind pieces of Disney art and memorabilia. Come here to find that Big Fig of Maleficent, that limited edition cel from the Black Cauldron, or that Robert Olszewski sculpt of the Madame Medusa’s Airboat (more on that later!)

Move over Main Street Bakery, Cruella is in town and baked goods just became bad.

She might try and convince guests that the bear claws are made from real bears, but there is no denying the delicious goodies that this bakery is whipping up. The half chocolate, half vanilla Cruela-ers are the specialty and can be found nowhere else. The decor will be “spot-on” of course.

A place to take a breather and cool off, the Boulevard Sinema plays a constant loop of Villain’s greatest moments with special showings and biographies of the evil-doers.

Inspired by the mommy muttering antics of the lousy, good for nothing Prince John, PJ’s is the place to get anything sleep related.

Who hasn’t wanted the sheets and comforters that adorn the beds in the Disney Resorts? PJ’s is the place to get them. What about those silk pajamas or night shirt,or maybe a sleep mask inspired by Kaa’s infamous hypnotic gaze? They’ve got it. The inside of the store resembles the Prince’s own sleeping chamber, complete with his giant bed and Robin Hood’s money grabbingpulley system going out the window. Don’t sleep on this place.

They’re famous sister may have moved in with a prince, and inspired millions with her glass slipper fashion statement, but these sisters aren’t going down without a fight.

Not to be outdone, these girls have reached out to the hottest fashion designers and have filled their store with what they found. Constantly changing, this store will stay on the cutting edge of fashion with a Disney twist. The interior will resemble the bedroom Cinderella grew up in as the sisters hoped that might attract more visitors. They are always trying to capitalize on their more famous former tormentee.

At the end of the boulevard, guests will come across what appears to be a giant bowler hat that has crashed into the medieval village.

Centered around the wicked hat from Meet the Robinsons, Dor-15 Industries will house a mix of technology and toys. Looking for a certain villain action figure of playset? Dor-15 has it. She will also have video games, music and movies. The interior will be a stunning mechanical interior full of cogs, gears, and wheels spinning and whirring. As each guest enters they will be scanned by the giant red eye located on the exterior. Bitter that she doesn’t get to sell hats, if one looks carefully, they will find the evidence of her plot against Ratigan to destroy his shop and take it over for herself.

She has been hard at work in her laboratory creating some tasty candy to turn people in to animals….wait, let’s just stick with the fact that they are tasty. Themed like her sub-pyramid lab from The Emperors New Groove, this location will be where every kid and sweet tooth will be craving to go to get their fix.

Standing right next to Yzma’s (how appropriate) is Kronk’s Yum-Yum’s. What Yzma does for candy, Kronk does for ice cream. Along the lines of Marble Slab or Cold Stone Creamery, this will be a top of the line ice cream parlor. Decorated with Kronk’s own paintings and filled with his chittering squirrel friends, Kronk’s will suprise with it’s decor and its yum-yums.

Streetmosphere:

Every so often, the Toon Patrol from Roger Rabbit will make it’s presence felt on the Boulevarde. Imagine as you are walking down the street, a vintage gangster car screeches to a halt and out pour the Toon Patrol.

Still looking for revenge on Roger and Eddie, Judge Doom and his weasels are recruiting for people looking to join their search for revenge. Don’t make them laugh though, the weasels can’t resist comedy.

Yes, I know this takes place at the MK at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. I think it would make a great addition to the streetmosphere at Shadowlands. Keep it at Not So Scary for those nights as if he has escaped to the MK, but the rest of the year, let us see that ride every night.